Annular Mirror Vessel Inspection for Undercut Defects
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vessel inspection devices fail to accurately identify damaged areas, particularly those located undercuts or behind the flange of cans and bottles, due to limitations in imaging and lighting, leading to incomplete quality control during production.
Innovation Solution
A movable inspection device with a camera, objective lens, and optical element, featuring an annular mirror with an elliptical section inclined and radially displaced relative to the image recording axis, allows for precise focusing on regions of interest behind undercuts, enhancing light collection and positioning for effective defect detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a frontal camera is used to detect the bottle or can neck, then the inspection device is simple and easy to operate, but areas below the plane of the filling or opening area (undercuts) are not or only insufficiently imaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a deflecting mirror positioned above the vessel to redirect light paths from undercut areas into the camera's optical axis. This adds a spatial dimension (vertical positioning of the mirror) to capture regions that would otherwise be shadowed in a direct frontal view, enabling detection of flared edges and undercut defects without complicating the camera setup
2Measurement precision
If two cameras and one lighting unit are used instead of one camera, then sufficient assessment of shadowed areas is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a deflecting mirror as an intermediary optical element that redirects light from undercut regions to the single camera. This mediator allows one camera to perform the function that would otherwise require multiple cameras, reducing system complexity while maintaining detection precision for shadowed areas
3Measurement precision
If the optical element is positioned to focus on regions behind undercuts, then detection precision for damaged areas is improved, but the device complexity increases due to movable components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a movable inspection device that can be positioned and focused on specific regions of interest behind undercuts. The dynamic positioning capability allows the single camera system to adaptively focus on different undercut areas, providing precise detection without requiring multiple fixed cameras or complex multi-camera arrangements
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise detection of defects on vessels, including those not visible in standard front views, improving the accuracy and reliability of quality assessment during production, allowing for immediate reworking or separation of defective vessels.
Implementation Method 1
an optical element, in particular a mirror (20), whose longitudinal section having the image recording axis comprises an elliptical section inclined and radially outwardly displaced relative to the image recording axis
Implementation Method 2
the optical element... enlarges any defects behind an undercut of the vessel for the camera
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
AI summary
A vessel inspection device for examining a vessel in respect of damage in the filling or opening region having a bead or a bulge and forming an undercut has a camera, a lens associated with the camera and a further optical element which are adjustable and affixable in terms of their distances and alignments to one another and to an image recording axis, and the optical element is a mirror in the form of a ring mirror expanding toward the camera, the longitudinal section of which containing the image recording axis having the form of an elliptic portion inclined toward the image recording axis and displaced radially outward, wherein the elliptic portion has two semi-axes deviating from one another, and it is displaceable into an inspection position relative to the vessel to be inspected for the purposes of inspecting the filling or opening region of the vessel in each inspection procedure.